


The Power of a Vampire

by CartoonAddict564



Category: Monster High
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-02-13 23:14:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12994626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonAddict564/pseuds/CartoonAddict564
Summary: When Gory Fangtell uses her vampire powers to steal away Draculaura's boyfriend Clawd, Draculaura feels weak and powerless. She even wonders if she's worthy of her boyfriend and other friends, whom she knows would do anything to protect her and whom she feels she can't protect in return. But even when she's at her lowest, she still has the love and support of her family: her father Dracula and the Vampire Queen Elissabat. Thanks to them, Draculaura learns that a vampire's true power comes from within... and that she's more than strong enough to deal with Gory and rescue Clawd from the other vampire's clutches.





	1. The Stolen Boyfriend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [everchangingmuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/everchangingmuse/gifts).



> Hello!
> 
> This is my first Yuletide assignment, so I hope my story's up to snuff. :-) The recipient provided a really cool prompt asking for stories focusing on Draculaura and her family--Dracula, Elissabat, etc.--and I tried to run with things from there. The story is set in the new continuity (e.g., Monster High is run by Dracula) but includes a few elements from the old continuity (e.g., vampire court elements from "Frights, Camera, Action!", emotional vampire powers from "Why do Ghouls Fall In Love?", etc.) to suit the prompt. Hope you all enjoy!

When Draculaura entered a room, it was usually with light, rapid steps as she hurried to meet up with friends or watch Clawd dominate another game of casketball. But on one gloomy day, just a few minutes after the bell rang to dismiss classes, Draculaura entered her house's front hall at a slow and somber pace. She let the door swing shut behind her and looked down at her feet until she heard it slam back into place. Then, trying to hide her sobs, she pushed herself to take a few more steps in the direction of her room.

"Draculaura? Are you home already?" The vampire turned to see her father walk in from an adjoining room carrying a huge pile of textbooks. "I thought you were going to see a boovie with your--" Dracula shifted so he could see around the books and froze for a moment. "What's wrong, dear?"

"Oh, dad..." Draculaura wanted to sink down into the ground, but instead she made herself move forward and help her father set the textbooks down on a coffee table. Then she let him hug her and sank her head into the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry. I just had a really bad day..."

Dracula gave his daughter a tight squeeze. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I..." Draculaura rested in her father's embrace for a few more moments before gently pulling away. He looked into her eyes but she quickly dropped her gaze down to her shoes again. "No, that's alright. I know you have that meeting with the textbook salesmonsters. I don't want to--"

"That's not a problem," said Dracula at once. "I can meet with them tomorrow."

"But you said it was important the school get real textbooks as soon as possible," said Draculaura, though with no real strength in her voice. "And setting up the school is important, and I wouldn't want to get in the way."

Her father gently picked her up so she was at his eye level. "Draculaura. I can tell when you are trying to avoid me. I promise you, whatever is wrong, we can fix it together. So, please, tell me: what is the matter?"

Draculaura sighed and said nothing. 

"Dear, I--"

"Excuse me?"

Dracula and Draculaura both turned to an upper window to see a familiar figure sitting on the windowsill. Dracula froze for a moment before dropping into a deep bow, and Draculaura managed the softest of smiles at the sight of the newcomer. "Elissabat? Aren't you supposed to be at Court?"

The queen of all vampires grinned at her before shifting into her bat form in a puff of purple smoke. She flew down to the floor and shifted back, landing easily in front of Draculaura and her father. "I was shooting a new film near here and wanted to visit. But..." She carefully examined Draculaura, then reached out with one finger and gently brushed a single tear off her cheek. "Is this a bad time?" 

Draculaura hesitated as her father straightened out of the bow. "I don't... I mean, I'm sorry. I really do want to catch up, Elissabat, and I'd love to hear about all the adventures you're having at Court. It's just, now's not a great time."

"If you are feeling unwell, dear," said Dracula, "I'm sure Elissabat wouldn't mind returning tomorrow--"

Elissabat held up her hand and Dracula fell silent. Then she took another step closer to Draculaura and gently tilted her chin up so the two vampires were looking into each other's eyes. Draculaura frowned, but when she tried to shift Elissabat's grip tightened just the tiniest amount and Draculaura stopped. "I see," Elissabat murmured into her ear. "It's something you want to talk about... but not in front of your dad. Right?"

Draculaura stiffened and pulled away. "How did you--did you use some weird vampire queen power to figure out what I'm feeling?"

Elissabat just grinned but didn't say anything.

Draculaura took a breath to calm herself. She cast a longing look at the passageway that led to her room, then turned back to Elissabat. "I don't know. You might think it's stupid, or a waste of time. I mean, you're queen--"

"A queen gets to decide what she spends her time on," said Elissabat in a happy voice. "That's one of the great things about being queen. And Draculaura, seeing as how you're the vampire who cared so much about the future of all monsters that you gave up a life of luxury in the Court to fight Lord Stoker and track me down across half the planet... I'd like nothing more than to spend my time helping you."

Draculaura couldn't quite hide a small smile at that. "Well, if you're sure you don't mind..."

"Of course I don't mind." Elissabat embraced Draculaura in a quick hug, then turned to Dracula. "Excuse me," she said in a voice that was suddenly crisp and clear, the voice of someone giving orders which could not possibly be disobeyed. "Did you have other plans for tonight?"

The tall vampire hesitated. "Well, I was going to meet with some textbook salesmonsters, but--"

"Excellent! You go do that. I'll make sure Draculaura feels better by the time you get back." Elissabat turned back to Draculaura and gave her a big, warm smile. "I guarantee it."

"Are you sure?" Dracula looked back at Draculaura. "Dear, you seem very upset. It would not be right for me to leave you alone."

Draculaura shook her head. "No, it's okay, dad. If I'm going to talk with someone, I'd rather talk with Elissabat. Please?"

Dracula still looked uneasy, but he gave a little nod. "Alright. I'll be back in a few hours. If you're not feeling better, dear, please don't hesitate to talk to me. I want you to be happy."

"I know, dad," said Draculaura, and this time when she hugged him, she was able to meet his eyes.

After another round of goodbyes, Dracula left for his meeting and Elissabat fell in step with Draculaura. "So, what were you planning to do before you ran into your father and me?"

"Well, I was going to go up to my room, feed Webby, wrap myself in my pinkest and fluffiest comforter, and try to think about something else." 

Elissabat raised an eyebrow. "Your pinkest comforter?"

"I..." Draculaura blushed. "I feel better when I'm wearing pink."

"I see." Elissabat glanced over Draculaura's outfit, which was very pink already, and both vampires grinned at once. "Well, forget that," Elissabat continued. "Here's what you're going to do instead. You're going to go with me into your den, I'll turn on the fireplace and make some hot cocoa, we'll get wrapped up in that fluffy pink comforter you mentioned, you'll tell me everything, and I'll help you think of how to fix things. Sound good?"

Draculaura nodded, then hurried to keep up with Elissabat's brisk, confident steps. "Wait," she said, her voice lighter and almost teasing. "Don't I get a say in what I'll do? Maybe I like s'mores more that hot chocolate."

"Nope. I'm the Queen of all Vampires; you have to do what I say." Elissabat giggled. "It's in the Vampire Constitution. But don't worry. I'm a very benevolent ruler, and I could perhaps be persuaded to fix a meal of both s'mores and hot chocolate."

For the first time in hours, a big smile broke out on Draculaura's face, and she rushed to keep up with her friend.

#

Several minutes later, a fire was roaring in the fireplace, a pot of rich hot chocolate was bubbling over the blaze, and both Elissabat and Draculaura were wrapped up in a comforter that even Elissabat had to admit was pinker and fluffier than anything in her castle. "I," the queen said in the voice of a royal proclamation, "need to speak with your comforter vendor."

Draculaura burst into giggles and then rested her head on Elissabat's shoulder. "Thank you," she said in a soft voice. "This is just what I needed."

Elissabat nodded. "Do you want to talk about it now? Whatever it is?"

Nobody spoke for a few seconds, but then Draculaura took a steadying breath and nodded. "It's Clawd Wolf," she said. "My boyfriend. He was... I let someone steal him from me."

"Steal?" asked Elissabat. 

"Yes. It was just before school today in the casketball court. Clawd and I were the only ones there, he was practicing and I was cheering for him. But then Gory Fangtell walked in. She's this awful vampire that transferred in from Belfry Prep a few months ago; she bullied me until she thought I was queen, and then when she learned I wasn't she started bullying me again. And yesterday I tried to stand up to her and told her I wasn't going to take it anymore, and I guess she got mad about that."

Draculaura sniffed back a tear, but Elissabat placed a hand on her shoulder and she was able to keep going. "Gory just walked up to Clawd while he was practicing, then grabbed his head and turned it so she was looking into his eyes. He froze and looked confused, and I ran for them, but by the time I got to them she had already let go. But then Clawd told me he was breaking up with me and he wanted to go out with Gory from now on! And I could tell she didn't even like him and she was just doing this to hurt me, but I couldn't do anything about it!"

"Did you tell the teachers?" asked Elissabat.

"Yes, but Mr. Rotter and Mr. Hackington said they couldn't do anything. There's no proof Clawd didn't just decide to date Gory instead. But I know Clawd wouldn't just dump me! She's got him under some kind of spell!" Draculaura stood, pushing off the comforter with an angry shove and dropping her s'more. "And even worse, when I caught the two of them just after lunch, I saw she was drinking his blood! I mean, just lapping up a little from a cut on his wrist, but still! Clawd is not a snack! He's supposed to me my... my..."

Elissabat stood, gently wrapped the comforter around Draculaura again, and helped her sit back down. "I know," she said gently. "I've had to fight for people I love too. What did your friends say?"

Draculaura shook her head. "I can't go to them. Or my Dad. I know they could help--Dad could just throw Gory in detention for a million years until she undoes whatever she did to Clawd--but I know Clawd wouldn't need anyone to help him or throw someone in detention if I got in trouble. He'd just save me, and I should be able to save him too without needing help. But I can't. I'm not strong enough... I'm just a burden."

"You're not a burden--"

"But I don't even know what Gory did to Clawd in the first place!" Draculaura went on. "Maybe she stole some of Venus's pollen, or an amulet from Cleo, or used a vampire power I don't know about..." 

Elissabat put a hand to her chin. "You say Gory made eye contact with Clawd?" she asked. 

"Yes. For a few seconds, at least."

"Sounds like she used an emotion-manipulation spell, then. That kind of magic could easily make Clawd fall in love with her." Elissabat shrugged. "You know, like how that Kieran Valentine you mentioned in your letter last month made you fall in love with him."

Draculaura shuddered. There were still some nights when she had nightmares about Valentine capturing her with his powers, and in those dreams she was never able to escape before he broke her heart and added it to his collection. She quickly took a long drink of Elissabat's special cinnamon-peppermint hot chocolate and savored it for a few seconds until the old fear faded. "But Valentine was an emotional vampire. Gory's a regular vampire like us! How could she cast one of his spells?"

"Emotional vampires feed on emotions, but all vampires can manipulate them, or at least read them, if they learn how," said Elissabat. "That's how I knew earlier that you were upset--and that, when your eyes flicked to your dad for a moment, that you were embarrassed."

"Oh." Draculaura was silent for a few moments as she thought. "Well... I do have my powers now. So shouldn't I be able to cast spells like that?"

"Sure."

"And if I was good at those kinds of spells... maybe I could manipulate Clawd's emotions to undo whatever Gory did to him?"

Elissabat smiled. "Yes. Or you could manipulate Gory into doing it for you, and then jumping in the nearest lake. Which would probably be a lot more fun."

The two girls giggled at the mental image, but then Draculaura fell silent. "But I don't know how to cast those spells. So I could help Clawd if I was better at being a vampire, but I'm not, so I can't. And by now I'm sure Gory told all my friends what she did, how I couldn't stop her, that I'm too weak to help them if they need it. They probably don't want to talk to me ever again."

Her phone suddenly gave a short ring, making her jump. Elissabat picked up the phone and looked at it. "You want to get that?"

"No. It's probably one of my friends telling me that they know I didn't help Clawd and they don't want to be friends with someone who can't--"

The phone suddenly switched to the answering machine. "Hey Draculaura, it's me, Clawdeen," came the familiar voice of one of Draculaura's friends. "I just wanted to thank you again for pupsitting Pawla, Barker, Weredith, and Howleen last weekend. You really saved my tail. Let me know if we're still on for that boovie, okay? Later."

Elissabat turned to Draculaura, who blushed. "Okay. Maybe I'm being a little dramatic."

"There's nothing wrong with being dramatic. Some of us even make a career of it," said Elissabat, earning a small smile from Draculaura. "In fact, some of us make such a career of it that we can keep going even when some critics say our boovies are completely inaccurate."

"Your boovies are inaccurate!" giggled Draculaura.

Elissabat smiled, then waved a hand as if trying to return to the topic. "But if you ask me: I'm sure your friends won't think less of you if you tell them what's going on. Everyone needs help sometimes. Even queens."

Draculaura slowly inclined her head at the point. "I know, but I still should be the one to save Clawd, even if I'm weak and powerless. I love him so much! And I know he'd do anything for me, and I should be able to do the same for him. I have a... a duty, I guess."

Elissabat munched the last bite of her s'more. "Well... I guess I can't exactly argue against duty. You did teach me an important lesson there. But you are wrong about one thing."

"What's that?"

"That you're weak and powerless. You might not be trained in all your vampire powers, but I can feel your potential--one of the perks of being queen. You are going to be an incredibly powerful vampire someday."

Draculaura perked up for a moment before hesitating. "But when is someday? Gory is using my boyfriend as a big furry snack now!"

"Then why don't we start training right away?" Elissabat turned so that she was making eye contact with Draculaura. "I can walk you through how to do basic emotion spells. You won't be able to charm your father into staying out past curfew or anything like that, but for inexperienced vampires like Gory? I'm sure I can get you up to her level."

Draculaura brightened. "Really? That's wonderful! Thank you, Elissabat!"

"Hey. What are queens for?" Elissabat laughed and Draculaura joined in, making the room almost vibrate with the happy, relaxed sound. "Now, concentrate on my eyes and try to focus your will on them like so..."


	2. The Magical Attack

Draculaura hummed merrily as she walked back towards her room. A few hours had passed, the fire had burned down to embers in the fireplace, and a tired Elissabat had dozed off on the couch next to the empty platter that had once held a pile of s'mores and big mugs of hot chocolate. She was warmly wrapped up in the pink comforter, though--Draculaura had seen to that--and her head was resting on the softest pillow in the house. She knew that the queen would have a wonderful sleep--and in the meantime, she knew she needed to get some sleep of her own before dealing with Gory the next day.

"Now let's see," she said as she pushed open the door to her bedroom. "If I need any more practice I could try casting it on Webby. Oh, but he does whatever I want anyways. I'd never know if I was compelling him or if he was just being his cute, helpful self." She glanced at her spider, who was currently weaving heart-shaped webs in the corner of her room, and a rueful smile came to her lips. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're too good of a pet, Webby?"

The spider's eyes flashed in pleasure and he scampered across the room so Draculaura could pat him. She did, then idly scratched the bat's chin with one hand while she went through the texts she'd missed over the last couple of hours with the other. "Frankie and Jackson need a third partner for the science fair next weekend... I think I can fit that in. After I get my Clawd back, of course." She giggled. "But that won't take long. Oh, Gory won't know what hit her! Elissabat's sure I'm good enough to--"

"Good enough at what?" called a familiar voice. Draculaura swiveled just as her dad walked into her room. As soon as he glanced at her face and saw her smile, his own mouth curved into a big grin. "Draculaura, you're smiling from fang to fang! Feeling better?"

"Much. Thanks, dad. I feel totes amazing now." Draculaura hurried to her father and gave him a big hug. "How was your meeting with the textbook salesmonsters?"

Dracula chuckled. "Pretty good. We should have the resources to offer classes in everything a young monster needs to know. We might even need to lengthen the school day to fit all the lessons in!"

"Uh." Draculaura hesitated. "...you know, they do say you can have too much of a good thing."

"Kidding!" Dracula spread his arms wide and grinned, and after a moment Draculaura laughed. Her dad's style of humor could be a little weird, but she wouldn't have him any other way. "I take it Elissabat helped you with whatever was making you sad?" he continued. 

Draculaura quickly nodded. "Yes. She taught me some new magic. I'm going to use it to... to help a really good friend who needs help." 

"Magic?" Dracula tilted his head. "What kind of magic?"

"Oh, it's awesome! In fact..." Draculaura backed a few steps away from her father and grinned. "Do you want me to show it to you? Elissabat says I've got it down solid!"

Dracula looked confused but nodded, and Draculaura carefully fixed her eyes on her father's just as Elissabat had taught her. She peered into them and tried to visualize her dad's mind behind them, then began drawing on her will. After a moment of thought she decided she'd try to influence her father to let her stay up an hour past curfew--after all, she'd learned a new power and that had to be worth a treat--and began to push at his mind, trying to make him just a little more amenable to her suggestions. That way, when she asked--

Her father frowned and narrowed his eyes, and then Draculaura felt a massive will pushing back on hers. She let out a soft squeak as she fell onto her butt with a soft 'thump' and then tried to get up, but couldn't. It was as if she was fixed by his gaze. After a moment, though, Dracula blinked and the spell broke. "She taught you mind-manipulation magic?" he mused. 

Draculaura managed to get to her feet. "You're really good at that," she managed.

"Well, I do have a lot of practice." Dracula was silent for a long moment. "You're not bad yourself... but I wish Elissabat would have asked my permission before teaching you that spell."

"Why?" Draculaura paused. "Is it dangerous?"

Dracula slowly walked to the big pink beanbag in the corner of Draculaura's room and sat down in it before looking up to face his daughter again. "Not exactly. Not in the sense that it could hurt you if you do it wrong. The worst that can happen is that you get a headache. But if you do it right..."

"...then you can do good things?" Draculaura hesitated, knowing that if she said what she really wanted to do her father would probably insist on handling things himself. But then she wouldn't get to show her friends that she was strong and could protect them, and she'd be failing Clawd. So instead she said, "Like, what if my boyfriend were really upset about something? This way I could use a little magic spell and cheer him right up!"

"Draculaura." Dracula gave his daughter a soft smile. "You were very upset earlier, were you not? But do you really think you would feel better if I had used magic to compel you to be happy? Even if you did, would you really have wanted me to do that?"

Draculaura was silent for a long moment. Would she have liked it if her father had just cast a 'be happy' spell on her when he saw she was sad? That might have made her feel better, yes. But then she wouldn't have been able to work through things with her father and Elissabat, she wouldn't have learned her new magic... and she didn't think a simple spell to force her to smile could really make her feel as calm and peaceful as she did now, when she had a real plan to actually deal with her problem? "Well... no. I guess not. But this is different. I want to use the magic to do something really good."

"Like what?"

"Like--like stopping a bully from being a bully." Draculaura nodded quickly and hoped that her father wouldn't ask more followup questions. "That's a good thing, right?"

Dracula met her gaze evenly. "In the abstract, perhaps. But this magic... it is very easy to misuse. I have seen it many times, young vampires learning to control emotions and then relying on it for everything. If they make a friend upset, they don't try to make amends and patch things up, they just use a magic spell to force the friend to be forgiving. If a boy doesn't like them, they don't move on or try harder to win his affections, they just use magic again to force his affections. This is why I did not teach you these spells, Draculaura, even after you obtained your powers. You are the fright of my life, and I would hate for you to be tempted into being a bully yourself."

"I won't be," said Draculaura at once. "I swear. I'll only use this power for good!"

Dracula, though, still looked skeptical. "But why did Elissabat teach it to you anyways? Did you ask her to?"

Draculaura shook her head at that. "No, Dad. I didn't even know normal vampires like us could use emotion magic. But I told her I had a problem and I was too weak and powerless to do anything about it, so she taught me some magic to become stronger. That's all it was, really."

At that, Dracula stood and approached his daughter before enveloping her in a hug again. "My dear... you are not weak and powerless. You are one of the strongest monsters I know! You always fight for what you think is right, you have many friends who want to help you, you're energetic, hard-working, passionate..."

Draculaura couldn't help but smile at the barrage of compliments. "That's not what I meant," she said. "I meant, I don't have a lot of magic or monster powers. I'm still working on flight and my other vampire skills--"

"But those aren't the only kind of power," Dracula insisted. "Real power comes from within. And like I said--you are one of the strongest monsters I know."

The two vampires were quiet for a moment as they embraced each other. Eventually, though, Draculaura gave her father a light squeeze and pulled away. "Thanks, dad," she said. "But... there's this bully, and I have to stop her. It's really important to me. And I don't know how else to do it except with this magic." She adopted a pleading expression. "You're not going to say I can't use it, are you?"

Dracula hesitated for a long moment before shaking his head. "I won't say that. I trust you, and if you promise me you will only use your power responsibly... and you'll stop using it if it isn't truly making things better... then I give you my permission. Alright?"

"I promise, dad." Draculaura grinned. "And don't worry. I'm sure tomorrow I'll deal with that bully and everything will be totes awesome again."

A few minutes later, Dracula was gone and Draculaura--now snugly tucked in under her second-pinkest comforter (as the first was still being used by Elissabat) and listening to a soft recording of wind whistling through a Transylvanian forest to help her drift off--relaxed as her eyes slid shut. The next day, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt, was going to be wonderful.

#

When Draculaura walked into the front hall of the school the next day, she quickly ran through her plan. Gory usually hung out in the school's attic with her vampire friends before classes began, and now she'd probably have Clawd with her, to serve as a furry soda machine if nothing else. (Draculaura winced again at the image, and promised herself that when she was done with Gory, nobody would even think of sinking fangs into her Clawd ever again.) So Draculaura just had to get up there, find a way to split Clawd away from the vampires so they couldn't get in the way, and use her magic to undo Gory's. After that Clawd would be hers again and everything would be perfect.

Draculaura fixed the plan in her head, smiled confidently, and raised a foot to take the first step towards the attic stairs. But then Clawd walked into the hallway from a nearby bathroom, and all of Draculaura's plans seemed to float right out of her head.

The werewolf looked just as handsome as always. His muscles were just barely visible underneath his casketball jersey, and his fur was just the right mix between scraggly and fluffy. But there was something different about his eyes. They were just slightly dulled, like he was tired... or like someone had messed with his head and confused him.

"Clawd!" called Draculaura, all thoughts of stealth and secrecy forgotten. She rushed forward and embraced him. "Clawd, I'm here!"

"Woah!" Clawd quickly pushed Draculaura away, not roughly or violently, but just firmly, like he might do to any random stranger who tried to hug him. "Hey, easy. We're not together anymore, remember?"

"But Clawd--"

Clawd shook his head. "Look, I told you, you're nice and all, but I'm with Gory now. There's just something about her..." he trailed off and his gaze went out of focus for a moment. "Her eyes," he said at last. "She's got the most perfect eyes."

"No, she doesn't!" Draculaura almost yelled. "She just--ugh, nevermind. Just look into my eyes for a moment. Then you'll understand."

The werewolf hesitated. "I don't know... Gory told me to get back upstairs right after I was done in the bathroom. She's got some friends from her old school shadowing her today and they haven't had breakfast yet." His mouth curved into a dopey smile as he tilted his head so Draculaura could see several fangmarks on his neck. "Gory says I'm so delicious she wants to share me with all her friends! Isn't that awesome?"

"Agh!" hissed Draculaura as a flash of anger swept through her, and almost before she knew what she was doing she had grabbed Clawd by the ear and was dragging him into a quiet corner. Clawd whimpered but didn't resist, and in moments Draculaura had him pinned against the wall. "Listen. You look into my eyes. Ok?"

"Uh..."

"Good." Draculaura tilted Clawd's chin down so she could make eye contact with him, then focused on her will like Elissabat had taught her the previous night. She took a deep breath, tried to clear her mind, and pushed--

And felt like she was running right up against a wall.

Clawd's mind wasn't like Elissabat's, which she'd been able to touch after just a few tries, or even her father's. It felt like there was something blocking the rest of it off and preventing Draculaura from doing anything. Draculaura pushed at the blockage with her will, struggling to connect with something so she could undo whatever Gory had done to him, but she could no more get through it than a bat could fly through a steel mesh. She could sense what she wanted on the other side, but no matter how hard she pushed she couldn't get through.

"Um," began Clawd after about three minutes of Draculaura staring at him. "Are you done? I really should get back to Gory. She said that if I do absolutely everything she asks me today, then when we go shopping later and stop for a snack she'll consider letting me get a dish of water!"

"No!" hissed Draculaura. "I'm not done!" She threw everything she had at Clawd's mind--and stumbled back as a sharp headache thudded through her. It felt like she'd rammed her head into a locker. "Ow..."

A harsh chuckle cut through the air behind her, and she managed to turn in time to see Gory Fangtell approach. "Something wrong, Draculaura?" the taller vampire simpered. "You're not having boy troubles, are you?"

Draculaura couldn't stop herself from clenching her fist. "You give me back my boyfriend!"

"Your boyfriend?" Gory barked out a short laugh. "Hardly. Clawd's with me now. And he couldn't be happier to be away from you. Isn't that right, dog?"

"Of course!" said Clawd at once. "You're better than Draculaura in every way! You even smell better!"

"She does not!" Draculaura yelled. She took a step towards Gory and thrust a finger in her face. "Give him back. Now!"

"Well..." Gory's mouth curled upwards in a cruel smile, and her fangs glinted dully. "If you want him so bad, why don't you take him? You're a vampire, aren't you? Surely if you think I've... altered him... you could easily use your own magic to undo it. Unless you're really as weak or powerless as you look..."

Draculaura growled and leapt at Gory, but then she felt herself rising in the air as a hand closed around her collar. "What do you want me to do with her, Gory?" asked Clawd as he lifted Draculaura out. "Should I put her in my doghouse? That's where Mom sends me when I'm bad--"

"No, no. I have a better idea." Gory stepped so close to Draculaura, who was struggling futilely to escape from Clawd's grip, that their noses were almost touching. "Do you really want him back, Draculaura?" Gory whispered.

"Of course!" Draculaura hissed. "I'd do anything!"

Gory rubbed her hands together. "Then I'll give you one shot." She carefully took off her glasses and put them in her pocket, then locked eyes with Draculaura. "And a twenty-second head start. If you really think you're stronger than you look, use your magic on me. Make me turn him back to how he was."

Draculaura blinked. "Why are you giving me a chance to stop you?"

"Because when you can't do it," said Gory, "it'll be really funny."

That made Draculaura scowl all over again. She took a breath and focused on Gory's eyes. "Alright, Gory," she said. "You're going down!" 

When she reached out with her will, she expected the same kind of resistance she'd felt with Clawd, but there was almost none. That seemed odd to her, but she didn't let herself think about it before pushing on and focusing her magic directly into Gory. The other vampire's mouth dropped and she backed up a step as if surprised at Draculaura's strength, and Draculaura allowed herself a small smile. Then she pushed a little further--

And felt Gory's magic suddenly rushing at her from all sides. She tried to push Gory away, or do anything else, but she was too committed on her own attack and she knew she couldn't block Gory's in time. Gory's eyes seemed to grow until they filled her entire field of view, and she could distantly here Gory's voice in her head urging to her to relax. To be calm. To just listen to what Gory said. Draculaura tried to fight it, but the voice was all around her.

Then it cut off at the same time Gory's eyes were slammed to the left and out of Draculaura's vision. Draculaura quickly shook her head, her vision clearing in time to let her see that Gory had been knocked left into the wall. A casketball, which had apparently hit Gory in the head, was bouncing away.

"Gory!" Clawd dropped Draculaura and ran to the other vampire, who let him help her up. "Who hit you?"

"Sorry," came a familiar voice, and Draculaura turned to see the wiry form of Lagoona standing a few feet away with a small smirk on her face--the expression of someone who had just landed a shot exactly where she'd wanted it to go. "The ball just slipped clean out of my hands, mate." 

The sarcasm was obvious in Lagoona's voice, and Clawd made as if to approach her, but Gory caught his arm. "Don't worry. I think your ex learned her lesson." She flashed a thin smile at Draculaura. "Your manster's mine now, Draculaura. And you can't do anything about it." She snapped her fingers and Clawd immediately shifted into his wolf form, allowing Gory to get on. Then, with a howl, he raced away with Gory on his back.

Draculaura watched Clawd run with a pained look before turning to Lagoona. "Thanks," she said. 

"Hey, no worries mate." Lagoona gently slugged Draculaura's shoulder. "I owe you anyways for spending all last weekend helping me improve my casketball game."

A faint blush came to Draculaura's cheeks. "All I did was pass you the balls back after you shot them."

"And timed my laps. And kept me company during all those really boring crunches." Lagoona chuckled, but her smile quickly faded. "Anyways, what was that all about? Clawd seemed really weird. And Gory's eyes were all weird too; they were practically glowing."

"Yeah, there's a lot of weirdness going on today." Draculaura hesitated. Lagoona would help her, of course... but then she, Draculaura, would have to admit that she'd failed Clawd. That she'd needed a better, stronger friend of hers to jump in and save the day for her because she wasn't strong enough on her own. "But... I'm trying to deal with Gory and help Clawd myself. I don't want to, uh, bother anyone else."

"Draculaura, you'd never be a bother," said Lagoona, and the two girls smiled at each other. "That said, I get wanting to beat someone on your own--nothing like some good old fashioned one-on-one. But that's for sports. If Gory's doing bad things and Clawd's in trouble because of it, we have to stop her--or find someone who can."

The vampire sighed. She knew this was true; after a certain point, if she truly could do nothing, she had an obligation to go get help to save her boyfriend. But she didn't think she was at that point yet. Surely, she thought, she had enough time to try once more. She could go back to Elissabat and her father, maybe practice her magic a little more until she was strong enough and powerful enough to save her boyfriend. "I know. If I can't do anything by... by the end of the day I'll tell my dad. But I want to keep trying until then."

Lagoona considered for a moment before nodding. "Sure thing, Draculaura. I trust you. Just let me know if you change your mind, okay?" She waved as she walked away.

Draculaura watched her go, then turned and began to hurry towards the private part of the building where she and her father lived. Elissabat would still be there, she knew, and maybe even her father if he wasn't already teaching classes. If she, Draculaura, really did have the strength and potential that Elissabat said she did, surely they could explain how she could stop screwing up and unlock it.

She caught her breath. "I'm not weak," she whispered. "I'm not. I'm going to do this." She clenched a fist. 

"I'm going to save you, Clawd."


	3. The Power of a Vampire

The walls of the old mansion seemed to almost blur as Draculaura raced through them. She hurried around a corner, tripped, and had to shift into her bat form to stop from crashing down to the floor. But she did catch herself, and as soon as she'd shifted back she was on her way again. She took a small flight of stairs in a couple of jumps and then reached the door she'd been searching for. "Dad? Elissabat?" she called as she shoved the door open and rushed into the room. "Are you--ah! You're here!"

Elissabat was standing at a desk strewn with papers that looked like some kind of lesson plan. Her head had jerked up as soon as Draculaura had burst into the room, and she was now looking at her friend with concern. "What happened?" she asked. 

Draculaura took a few moments to catch her breath. "Everything went horribly wrong!" She paused. "And I know you are probably very busy with important queen stuff, but if you have a few minutes I would *really* appreciate--"

"Of course, Draculaura," Elissabat walked up to her in a single smooth, flowing motion. "I'm done anwyays. I needed some lesson plans for the educational reforms I'm trying to push through the Vampire Court, and your father said I could look at his. Now... what happened?"

Draculaura opened her mouth but suddenly felt wobbly as her rapid breathing seemed to make her headache, the one she'd gotten from trying to undo the magic Gory had put on Clawd, much worse. Before she realized she was falling, though, Elissabat was at her side and helped her onto a very comfortable (and very pink) easy chair on one side of the room. "Thanks," she managed. "So, um, I tried to use my magic to help Clawd--but it didn't work! And then Gory almost got me and I needed Lagoona to help scare her away, and I'm not sure what to do now--"

Elissabat held up a hand and Draculaura fell silent. Things somehow felt less chaotic, less like everything would fall apart unless she spoke and acted as fast as possible, now that a good friend was by her side. "What do you mean, things went wrong?"

"I mean, I tried to use my magic on Clawd but it was like I hit some kind of wall. I couldn't get through." Draculaura looked down. "Maybe I did it wrong--"

"Doubtful. You had a good grasp on it last night," said Elissabat. "Gory's probably just better than we thought... maybe she took some magic classes at Belfry before coming to Monster High. I'll bet she didn't just alter Clawd's emotions so he loves her; she also strengthened those new emotions so they're harder for anyone else to change. That's why you felt like your magic was hitting a wall--because she'd made Clawd's emotions really hard to change."

Draculaura blanched. "So it's not possible to fix him?"

"Of course it's possible to fix him," said Elissabat, making Draculaura sigh with relief. "I have some mages at Court that could do it in about five seconds. And--"

"I mean, it's not possible for me to fix him?" pushed Draculaura. 

Elissabat was silent for several seconds. "If she's that good, it could be difficult," she conceded. "However, if I trained you for a few weeks--"

"Clawd doesn't have weeks!" insisted Draculaura. "She's going to feed him to her friends!" She could almost see Clawd surrounded by a horde of vampire girls licking his blood from fresh sets of fangmarks. "I have to do something!"

"Why not go after Gory directly then?" asked Elissabat. "Get into her head and make her reverse whatever she did to Clawd."

Draculaura shook her head. "I tried that too. But she beat me, and she was almost ready to make me do whatever she wanted until Lagoona showed up and rescued me!" She paused. "...there's nothing I can do, is there? I'm not strong enough."

"Draculaura, I already told you--you are incredibly strong." Elissabat's voice was warm and seemed to drape around Draculaura like a big fluffy blanket. "You have the potential to be an incredibly powerful vampire."

That made Draculaura feel a little better, but only a little. "Thanks," she said. "But I need to be strong now. And I'm not."

Elissabat opened her mouth as if to say something, but then she paused. "Wait. Someone's at the door."

Draculaura turned just in time to see the study's door open and her father walk in. He was frowning, and when he looked at the two younger vampires it was with a severe expression. "Draculaura," he began in a reproving tone. 

"Uh..." Draculaura fixed a smile on her face. "How much of that did you hear?"

Her father raised an eyebrow.

"So, everything then." Draculaura let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I know I should have told you Clawd was brainwashed as soon as it happened, but I... I had to try to solve this on my own. Clawd's a really good boyfriend, and he's done a lot of good things for me. I wanted to show I could do good things for him too."

"My dear..." Dracula strode up to his daughter, knelt, and embraced her in a hug. "You have done many good things for him too. Just because you cannot break a powerful enchantment, that does not make you bad."

"I know, but... I still wanted to help him." Draculaura looked up at her father with new vigor. "I love him, daddy. He's perfect in so many ways. And I wanted to be the one that rescues him, if I can. I know Clawd's your student, I know you probably want to just send Gory to detention forever until she undoes what she did to Clawd, but I thought if I could..."

Elissabat rose. "Mr. Dracula. I know you're concerned about your student, but I assure you, it's quite possible for Draculaura to address this situation on her own. It would only take a few weeks for her to learn the necessary spells--"

"I cannot wait weeks," said Dracula. "Not if Clawd is actively being fed on. I love my daughter more than anything, she is the fright of my life, but I cannot allow a student to be hurt when I could prevent it."

"Then it won't take weeks!" said Elissabat. "I can have some artifacts shipped in from Transylvania. They'll get here by the end of the week, and--"

"No."

Elissabat turned, clearly startled, to Draculaura who sighed. "Even by then, Clawd could be hurt. I... I can't stop Gory from hurting him by myself." She hung her head. "Thank you for all your help, Elissabat. I really appreciate the lessons... and your confidence in me." She hugged the queen, who seemed momentarily startled. "But it's more important that Gory be stopped from hurting Clawd, even if I can't be the one to stop her."

Dracula was silent for a long moment, and Draculaura hesitated. He didn't look mad or upset, but rather pensive, like he was working out a difficult problem. "Um, dad?" she asked. "What--"

"I can give you until the end of class today," said Dracula at last. "If by that time you have not rescued Clawd, I will have to step in. But until then..."

"Wait." Draculaura jumped to her feet, trying to tamp down on the surge of emotion rushing through her. "You think I can do it?"

"Of course," her father said. "Like I told you last night. You are one of the strongest monsters I know. I have no doubt you can do it."

Elissabat frowned. "But... Mr. Dracula, I support Draculaura too, but if Gory is as good at magic as we think, then--"

"Magic? Who said anything about using magic?" Dracula gave the two a gentle smile. "She did not need her magic to help you and prevent Lord Stoker from doing you harm, did she? She used a power of an entirely different kind."

"I..." Elissabat exchanged a confused glance with Draculaura, then suddenly brightened. "Oh! I get it!"

"I don't," said Draculaura, now honestly confused. "What are you saying?"

Dracula chuckled. "It's like I said last night, Draculaura. True power comes from within. From here." He tapped his own heart. "Once you understand that, I'm certain you'll be able to stop Gory and help Clawd."

Draculaura hesitated. "...this is one of those things where you tell me to figure it out for myself as a learning experience, isn't it?"

"But of course!" said Dracula. "I do run a school now, after all." He turned to the door and then extended a hand. "Queen Elissabat. Shall we leave my daughter to her thoughts?"

"Certainly." Elissabat grinned at Draculaura and then mouthed a quick--and very un-queenlike--"You got this!" before walking with Dracula to the door. 

Draculaura rose and followed after them, still unsure of what they meant. "But..."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Dracula reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter. "I bumped into your friend Cleo this morning, and she said she couldn't find you and asked me to give you this. You should probably take a look at it when you have the chance." He dropped the letter on a nearby table, then stepped out of the room with Elissabat.

When the two were gone, Draculaura took a few breaths while she thought. On the one hand, her father and her friend both seemed confident that she could beat Gory, which... well, which was everything. They believed in her. It was impossible for her not to believe in herself after that, and she felt her mouth curl up into a fierce smile at the thought of kicking Gory's butt and recovering her boyfriend.

On the other hand, she had no idea whatsoever what her father had meant. What power did she have, besides magic? She wasn't incredibly athletic like Lagoona or tough like Clawdeen. She couldn't detach her hand or shock monsters like Frankie, and she didn't have a small army of loyal servants and a closet full of magical amulets like Cleo. What did she have?

Draculaura glanced down at the letter again before settling into the pink chair and starting to read it. "Dear Draculaura," she read. "Thank you again for helping me with my clawculus homework. If you have time, I'd really appreciate if we could meet up again this weekend--my dad will entomb me if I can't get my grades up a little more. Maybe three this Saturday? Thanks, Cleo."

The vampire smiled a little as she dropped the letter on a table. Of course she'd help Cleo, just like she'd helped Clawdeen and Lagoona and all the others. They were great friends; they'd even helped her when she'd had to track down the real vampire queen in order to stop Lord Stoker's crazy plans. And in fact--

Draculaura froze as she thought back over what her father had said. Then she grinned. "Oh!" she yelled, jumping to her feet. "I have it! I know how to stop Gory!"

She let out a little giggle, then went to the door of the study. "Don't worry Clawd. I'm coming for you!"

#

It took a few hours to put her plan together, but Draculaura finally had everything ready by lunch. She peaked out from behind a column as she watched Gory and a few of her vampire friends tug Clawd, dopily grinning despite the new bitemarks all over his arms, into the creepatorium. Then, taking a deep breath, Draculaura stepped out from behind the column and marched in after her.

Her timing was perfect; Clawd and all the vampires were directly in the middle of the room. Draculaura took a megaphone that she'd borrowed from the Fearleading Squad's equipment room and put it to her mouth. "GORY!"

Gory and the other vampires froze. Clawd kept walking for a couple moments before Gory abruptly grabbed his sleeve and stopped him. Then she turned with the others to face Draculaura. "Yes?" she said, a cruel smile on her face. "Did you want something?"

"I want my boyfriend back!" demanded Draculaura, slamming her fist into the palm of her other hand. "You undo what you did to him and let him go now!"

"Or... what?" Gory chuckled and took a couple steps towards Draculaura. "You'll attack me again? Didn't work out so well for you last time, did it? Face it, Draculaura. Your magic sucks worse than a newbie vampire with two broken fangs."

Draculaura shrugged. "Yes, my magic's not so good yet. But I have other powers."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" boasted Gory. She tilted Clawd's neck so that he was in easy reach of her fangs. "What power do you have that'll stop me from taking a sip of your boyfriend right now?"

"This." Draculaura put the megaphone to her mouth. "Ghouls, stand up!"

Around the cafeteria, in a loose circle around Gory, several other monsters rose: Frankie, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo. Draculaura's closest friends, who had all agreed to fight by her side if necessary. "We're ready when you are, Draculaura," said Clawdeen. "Just say the word."

Gory glanced around, then chuckled. "So that's your 'power?' Begging your friends for help? Pathetic. At Belfry we learn to do things on our own. And unless you're claiming you made them all your thralls or something--"

"No thralls," said Draculaura. "And I did do it on my own--the important part, anyways. I was their friend. I helped them whenever they needed it. I didn't need to mess with their heads to get them to follow me. They're here because I earned their friendship, on my own, one tutoring session, babysitting night, and exercise set at a time."

"Yeah, once we found out what was going on, no way were we going to stay away," said Clawdeen. "Draculaura's our friend. No matter what."

Draculaura put a hand to her heart. "These are my powers," she said. "Empathy. Friendship. Kindness. They're not magic, but..." She gestured at the standing ghouls. "They're still strong enough to help me take you down."

"Empathy? What kind of lame power is that?" Gory laughed. None of her friends laughed with her, though, and when Gory looked back at them Draculaura saw her blanch--all the vampires with her looked scared. "Come on!" Gory hissed. "They've only got one vampire, and she's barely a vampire. Besides, he'll help us." She put a hand on Clawd's head and he immediately grinned. "We can take them."

"No," said Draculaura, feeling a surge of confidence. "You cannot take all of us! Ghouls? Mansters?"

Slowly at first, then more and more quickly, other students rose. Soon dozens were standing, packed almost shoulder to shoulder around the open space in the middle of the creepatorium. Gory swiveled from one side to the other, but she was surrounded at every turn. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Draculaura helped me transplant some really rare flowers that would have been killed in a bad frost," said Venus. "If she needs my help, she's got it."

"She helped me fix my arm when its gears rusted," added Robecca. "Even though she had to deal with hundreds of little bolts and it took all weekend just to get it back together."

"She filled in for the Casketball team when Clawd was out with the flu!" yelled Manny. "Even though she was scared of getting hit in the head with the ball!"

Draculaura stepped forwards. "No matter how good your magic is, you can't beat all of us at once, Gory," she said. "And you can't beat me. So." She took a breath. "Let my boyfriend go."

Gory's eyes were darting back and forth, like those of a rat in a trap. "Or?"

"Or we make you." Draculaura kept walking towards Gory, who shot a frantic glance behind her only to see that her posse had vanished--no doubt having turned into bats and fled, Draculaura thought. The only people left in the middle of the ring of monsters were herself, Gory, and Clawd. "Let. Him. Go."

A few seconds of silence passed, punctuated only by Clawdeen deliberately raising her hands and cracking her knuckles. Gory squared her shoulders as if she was getting ready for a fight--but then the entire ring of students took a step inwards just as Draculaura herself walked up to Gory, and Gory seemed almost to shrink within herself. "Okay," she muttered. "Okay! Fine!"

Draculaura pointed at Clawd. She didn't say anything; she didn't need to.

Gory sighed, then told Clawd. "You, hairball. Look at me." When he did, she grabbed his chin and pulled his head close so they locked eyes. Nothing happened for a few moments, and then Gory and Clawd both stumbled away from each other as if they'd been stunned.

"Clawd?" asked Draculaura, much of her confidence seeming to vanish. It could be a trick, she reminded herself. Clawd could be wrapped up in more magic than ever, and Gory could try to sneak away while she, Draculaura, figured that out. "Are you... you?"

Clawd groaned and touched his forehead. "Draculaura?" he managed. "Of course it's me. Who else would it be, babe?" He looked down at his arm and blinked. "Um. Why do I have fangmarks?"

Draculaura rushed up to him. "You love me, don't you?"

"Of course. You're everything to me. You--wagh!" Draculaura had jumped on him and wrapped her arms and legs around him with a squeal of glee. "Woah! Hey, uh, not that I'm not happy to cuddle, but what brought this on?"

"Oh, Clawd," whispered Draculaura. "It's so wonderful to have you back."

A raspy cough brought Draculaura out of her reverie, and she managed to pry her gaze away from Clawd for long enough to see Gory scowling at her. "Alright, you got what you wanted," she said. "Can I go now?"

"Go?" Draculaura tilted her head. "I don't know... you did a lot of bad things. Shouldn't you be punished?"

"Punished? By who?" Gory seemed to recover a little of her bravado. "Will you have your friends beat me up, even after I fixed Clawd? If they did what you said they'd get in trouble--and that wouldn't be very friendly of you, would it? Or are you going to go to daddy so he can give me a couple of detentions?" She chuckled and turned away. "You won this one, Draculaura, but it doesn't matter. You can't do anything to me. You--"

"Ahem."

Draculaura and Gory both looked up to see a bat perched at the top of the creepatorium. It dropped down and flew in a tight circle before landing and transforming back into Elissabat. Gory's eyes widened. "My queen, I--"

Elissabat held up a hand, and Gory's mouth slammed shut as if of its own accord. "You are correct that Draculaura cannot punish you. I, however, can." She smiled slightly. "Why don't we go meet with Principal Dracula and discuss what form, exactly, that punishment will entail?"

Gory's face fell, and Draculaura grinned before burying her head just under Clawd's comfortable, fuzzy neck again. She'd done it, she thought. She'd gotten her boyfriend back, and everything was good again.

#

Late that night, an hour or so after Draculaura's usual curfew, anyone who could have looked into the little den just off the front hall of Dracula's living quarters would have seen quite the sight.

Draculaura was there, wrapped up in her favorite blanket and nestled up against the side of her boyfriend Clawd. The two rested on an incredibly comfortable sofa and nibbled s'mores as a roaring fireplace burned in front of them, filling the room with a gentle warmth that drove off the chill of the night. On Draculaura's other side sat Elissabat, Queen of all Vampires, taking measured sips of hot chocolate as she too relaxed by the fire. And in an easy chair next to the sofa sat Dracula himself.

"This is perfect," murmured Draculaura after a few minutes of silence. "I wish I could stay like this forever."

"Totally agree, babe." Clawd hugged Draculaura a little tighter. "I can't believe Gory got in my head like that. Thanks again for bailing me out."

Draculaura giggled. "What are friends for?"

Clawd shifted his gaze to Dracula. "And thanks for having me over. I get it if you guys want to go to bed--"

"Please, Clawd, as long as you have a place in Draculaura's heart, you are family. You may stay as long as you wish." Dracula shifted his gaze to his daughter. "Although... since you two do have classes tomorrow..."

"Can't we stay up just a little longer, dad? Please?" Draculaura pressed her hands together and gave her father a pleading look. She felt so good and comfortable now, especially after two days of total panic, that the thought of getting up even long enough to go to her bedroom was unbearable. "Just a few more minutes?"

Dracula hesitated. "Well... alright. But that's all."

"Alright!" Draculaura let out a soft squeeing noise as she cuddled against Clawd a little harder. "You're awesome, daddy. I'd never have figured out what to do if you weren't there."

Dracula blushed slightly. "Ah... well, dear, you did most of the work yourself. Like I said, the power was in your heart all along--"

"But you helped me find it. And Elissabat..." Draculaura shifted to look at the queen. "You're wonderful. Even though you have so much queen stuff to do--"

"You helped me when I needed help," said Elissabat primly. "You found me when I needed finding, and you saved the entire Vampire Court in doing so. You have done immense good for our monsters... and for me in particular. Of course I'll be there for you whenever you need me." She gently squeezed Draculaura's hand. "I promise." 

Everyone was silent for a little while longer, but then Clawd stirred. "Hey, long as we're still up, I gotta call home. Make sure the chores are getting done." Draculaura and Elissabat both giggled at that as Clawd took out his phone and called someone on speakerphone. "Hey, Gory! You finish cleaning out all the doghouses yet?"

An angry growl sounded over the line. "Yes, Clawd," Gory managed at last. "I also mowed your family's lawn, did the dishes, and repainted your garage. Am I done yet?"

"Done?" asked Elissabat in an innocent voice. "I thought we agreed you would do all of Clawd's chores for a month?"

"But--"

"If you don't like it," said Elissabat as Draculaura failed to suppress her giggles, "I can always just take you to the Vampire Court for your punishment instead. With time off for good behavior, you should be out of the dungeons in... oh... two to three centuries. Does that sound good?"

Gory said nothing.

"I'll take that as a no. Back to work, Gory." Elissabat turned to Clawd. "Anything else to say to her?"

Clawd nodded. "Just make sure that you got every spot when you cleaned out the doghouses. My sister Clawdeen's kind of overprotective, so if you left any dirty or damp spots--"

A new voice sounded over the line. "Hey, Gory!" came Clawdeen's voice. "You didn't dry Weredith's doghouse after washing it! If it's still damp she could catch a cold!"

"You should probably run," advised Clawd as Gory squealed in fear. The sounds of running feet came over the line, as well as a howl that Draculaura knew could only have come from Clawdeen in her wolf form. Then the phone went dead, and she burst into another fit of giggles along with Clawd, Elissabat, and even her father.

By the time the laughter had subsided, Draculaura realized that tears had come to her eyes. She felt safe, she realized. Not just in the sense that she had strong friends who would support her, but that she had friends who would help her find her own strength. However much she needed, however bad a problem became, she knew she could put things to right--and if she got lost on the way, they'd be there to help her see the path forward. "I love you all," she said at last. "You're the best family a ghoul could have."

Nobody spoke, but Draculaura could read the expressions of her father, her boyfriend, and her queen in their eyes. And that made her feel even better.


End file.
